Test the Artifact - Develop the Organization

CloseSchool of Communication and Culture - Information Science, School of Communication and Culture, Arts, Aarhus University

Subtitle:

The Implementation of an Electronic Medicine Plan in Hospitals

DOI:

10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2006.01.001

Abstract:

Objective and methods: The paper aims to develop further insights into the process of implementationof IT in health care by describing findings from a study of a trial implementationof a newly developed electronic medication plan (EMP) in three hospitals in a county in Denmark.A sociotechnical perspective is applied to data acquired by the qualitative methodsof participant observation and semi-structured open-ended interviews. Conclusions: The achievement of fit between IT technology and work processes in healthcare involves the establishment of new organizational structures that cut across the existingdivisionalized hospital organization and a detailed alignment of artefact, functionalityand work process. This process can be furthered by supporting ‘communities of practice',i.e. informal groups of engaged clinicians. A sociotechnical perspective is beneficial to theanalysis of such processes.